Phil Samp, the Bengals' first radio play-by-play man whose long career was marked by a rich voice and spare, incisive no-frills description, died Tuesday morning at 76. Samp had moved to Tuscon, Ariz., where he died after a brief battle with liver cancer. Samp retired after the Bengals' last playoff season in 1990, ending a 23-year run that began with the club's inception in 1968.

This makes me sad, and it makes me feel a bit older. For those too young to have heard him call a Bengals game, you missed out on a legend. He was to the Bengals what Marty Brennaman has been to the Reds. If you ever see any old Bengals highlight films from the 70s or 80s on ESPN Classic or the NFL Network, listen for the Bengals announcer in some of the clips. That's Phil. He is missed.

RedFanAlways1966

03-11-2005, 02:20 PM

Thanks for sharing the sad news, macro. I remember Phil's voice well and can still hear it in the back of my mind. Being a Bengals lifer, it is a voice that I will always remember. As I will always remember Marty & Joe.

:(

SunDeck

03-11-2005, 06:20 PM

Anderson drops back, FIRES into the flat!

Man, I miss him whenever I listen to the bengals on radio now. Brad Johanssen is unintelligible compared to Samp.

Reds/Flyers Fan

03-11-2005, 06:28 PM

To think that Phil Samp's chair is being occupied by the incompetant Brad Johanssen is a shame. That guy is just terrible. He had no play-by-play experience before getting the Bengals job and it shows. He screams through all the good Bengals plays and you don't know what is going on.

To think that Phil Samp's chair is being occupied by the incompetant Brad Johanssen is a shame. That guy is just terrible. He had no play-by-play experience before getting the Bengals job and it shows. He screams through all the good Bengals plays and you don't know what is going on.

Lapham is pretty awful, too. The thing that bothers me the most about them both is that they are such homers. Samp was never that way; not as edgy as Marty B., but he let fans generate their own enthusiasm.

Reds/Flyers Fan

03-12-2005, 12:22 PM

I'll give Lapham the benefit of the doubt because he is a former player and likely didn't have the broadcast pedigree before he started. He is clearly a homer (like Joe Nuxhall) and that's fine. Not too many people listening to Bengals games who don't want the Bengals to win. But Johanssen and his ego are just painful to listen to. He doesn't know much about football but he thinks he is hall of fame material.

traderumor

03-13-2005, 08:05 PM

Personally, I really like listening to Paul Keels, who does the preseason games with Munoz. I would imagine doing Ohio State on Saturday's precludes him from doing Bengals games.